Who Makes the Image? Building Pinhole Cameras from Scratch

In the framework of Berlin Science Week, we cordially invite you to a workshop building pinhole cameras together: 

All it takes is a box to make an image. Build your own working camera from everyday materials, then take it home to develop, no chemicals needed.

Before photography became instant and invisible, images emerged through interactions between light, natural processes, paper and human hands. This workshop puts the most fundamental camera into participants' hands to rediscover image-making as a process of experimentation and transformation, and how scientific discoveries have shaped visual culture.

The pinhole camera is the oldest and simplest photographic instrument ever built – no lens, no electronics, no specific manufacturer required. Participants construct their own working camera from simple everyday materials, before loading it with light-sensitive paper and sealing it shut. Participants get to take their sealed, unexposed camera home, along with a printed guide to expose and develop in their own homes independently using a simple process and a homemade, chemical-free recipe.

A short opening talk sets this simplicity against photography's other history – as a tool of scientific classification and colonial documentation, held far more often by those looking than by those being looked at. 

No prior analogue or digital photography knowledge or technical experience needed. The workshop welcomes participants of all ages. The pace and content are best suited to participants able to follow multi-step instructions independently; younger participants are welcome with adult supervision. Children attending with a parent or guardian are welcome to build together using that one kit.